USS Plattsburg (SP-1645)
USS Plattsburgh at New York Navy Yard
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | SS City of New York |
| Operator: | Inman Line |
| Builder: | John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland |
| Launched: | 1888 |
| Fate: | To the American Line, 1893 |
 United States
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| Name: | SS New York |
| Operator: | American Line |
| Route: | Southampton to New York |
| Acquired: | 1893 |
| Fate: |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Harvard |
| Acquired: | by charter |
| Commissioned: | 26 April 1898 |
| Decommissioned: | 2 September 1898 |
| Fate: | Returned to owner |
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United States
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| Name: | USS Plattsburg |
| Acquired: | by charter, 9 May 1918 |
| Commissioned: | 24 May 1918 |
| Fate: | Returned to owner, 6 October 1919 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 10,499 long tons (10,667 t) GRT |
| Displacement: | 17,270 long tons (17,547 t) |
| Length: | 585 ft (178 m) |
| Beam: | 63 ft 3 in (19.28 m) |
| Draft: | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
| Speed: | 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement: | 407 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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The first USS Harvard of the United States Navy was an auxiliary cruiser in the Spanish–American War. She was launched as City of New York, and later commissioned as Plattsburg (SP-1645) for service in World War I.
Originally a schooner-rigged steamship, she was launched in 1888 as City of New York by John Brown and Company, Clydebank, Scotland, for the Inman Line. Sister ship of City of Paris, City of New York was one of the largest and best liners of her day, and one of the first steamships with twin screws. She was transferred to American registry under the American Line in 1893 as New York. These ships brought the United States to the front rank in the Atlantic passenger trade, and New York established the record for the Southampton to New York crossing in September 1893.
At the outbreak of the Spanish–American War, New York was chartered as an auxiliary cruiser with a civilian crew, commissioning on 26 April 1898 at New York, Captain C. S. Cotton in command and renamed Harvard. Assigned as a scout, Harvard departed New York on 30 April to cruise West Indian waters in search of the Spanish fleet. After sending back several reports on the location of Spanish units in the Caribbean, Harvard was blockaded by a larger force at Saint-Pierre, Martinique from 11–17 May, after which she proceeded to Santiago de Cuba and St. Nicholas Mole, Haiti, with dispatches from Commodore Winfield Scott Schley. Interrupting her scouting duties, Harvard returned to Newport News, Virginia, 7–26 June during which time her crew was officially taken into the Naval Service.
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Wikipedia